Simply Life

--I found this at a wonderful site called SolidSounds.com--

When I was a year old, I received a third-degree burn across the back of my hand. I was too young to remember what happened, but I do remember classmates commenting on my scar and asking questions. I thought nothing about it since I never knew what it was like not to have a scar, but my classmates did. Because of the unwanted attention I became so shy that at times I was almost invisible.

Maybe you have settled into silence behind dramatic scars. Your scars may be physical, emotional or spiritual. Maybe they were caused by something outside your control, and now you are left to cope alone. Maybe there's a tape in your head playing the "what-ifs" that might have been if only this had never happened to you. Maybe you think this is normal because you've never known anything else.

Or maybe you have left a scar on someone else and you feel regret. It can drain you of confidence and lock you into shame. Sometimes it is the mistakes we've made that become our barriers from the world.

John 4:10 mentions a woman who had a past and felt the weight of it every day. Her lifestyle even changed to accommodate the burden. Every day she came to the community well when she knew no one else would be there. She'd been through a series of failed marriages, which at that time was possibly the greatest shame a woman could bear. It was outside her control, yet she was an outcast. Still Jesus sparked a conversation by asking for a drink. She marveled that He even would speak to her.

Jesus said, "If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water" (John 14:10, NIV).

Jesus knew her story, and He knows yours. You may think whatever is deep inside you is too ugly to confess to a holy God, but nothing you tell Him will be a surprise! Jesus knew that revealing the ugly truth was what this woman needed in order for her to find forgiveness, healing and freedom.

Joy Williams sings about the shame and regret we often carry around with us in her song "Hide." But just like the woman at the well, we no longer have to hide away from the rest of the world. Because of Jesus, we can come out and join everyone else.

To anyone who's ever made a big mistake
We've all been there so don't be ashamed
So come out come out and join the rest of us
You've been alone for way to long

At one time my scar covered my hand, but as I got older it got smaller. Likewise, as I draw closer to Jesus and allow Him to justify and restore me, my past seems less and less like me. If you'll come into the light, God can give you life. Come out from the shadows, and let His transforming love be your hiding place.

-April C.

Scripture Reference: John 4:10; Psalm 44:25-26